The Gift And The Calling: A Psychologist's Journey From Chicago's South Side with Dr. Jamila Young | S06 E07
Dr. Jamila Young’s story begins on the south side of Chicago in an area known as the low end, raised by a single mother until age four when the man who would become her father entered their lives. With no memory of her biological father except a faded photograph from age three, Jamila grew up in a working-class home that valued education above all else. Her parents made sure she attended the best magnet schools Chicago had to offer, even when that meant traveling miles across the city from the wild hundreds to Whitney Young Magnet High School, Michelle Obama's alma mater. It was there, in an AP psychology class, that something clicked. For the first time, Jamila wanted to learn everything she could about the mind.
In this episode, Jamila shares how she went from planning to become a psychiatrist to discovering her true calling as a clinical psychologist. She speaks about working in a psychology lab at Emory University, falling in love with research, and deciding to pursue a PhD instead of medical school. What makes her story remarkable is not just the rigor of her training, but her intentional choice to learn from the best Black mentors she could find where she could not only learn, but show up fully as herself without code-switching or explaining her existence.
Jamila's story shows why representation matters, not just in the classroom but in the therapy room. She reminds us that bravery and self-confidence are very important and that doing hard things means trusting your ability to resource and figure it out. Tune in as we witness how one woman turned a childhood photograph and a love of psychology into a career saving lives, one session at a time, from Chicago to Los Angeles and everywhere in between.
Connect with Dr. Jamila Young
https://www.linkedin.com/in/drjamilayoung/
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More About Uncovered Legacy Podcast:
The Uncovered Legacy Podcast is where storytelling is not just left at the kitchen table. Many of us walk through life leaving a silent legacy, but we're here to change that by keeping those stories alive. Each tale will allow us to learn, discover, listen, and remember.
Join your host, Curtis Burke, for a trip around the world, through the smallest towns, biggest cities, oldest communities, and overlooked cultures. Because no matter where you're from, your part of history deserves to be heard.
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